McAllen ISD Theatre, Choir receive most nominations for ‘The Palms’

McAllen ISD students are standing at center stage following a county-high 36 nominations for the inaugural Palms Awards, it was announced recently. The Palms are Hidalgo County High School Theatre awards.

“This is a brand-new event that was created to celebrate and recognize the great work of students in high school theatre productions,” McAllen ISD Fine Arts Director Jim Egger said. “This is very much like the Tony Awards for professional theatre but geared for high school students. Congratulations to all of these very talented McAllen ISD theatre and choir students and their hard working teachers.”

Each high school in Hidalgo County was given the opportunity to enter one musical production and one non-musical production. There were 21 productions from 18 different schools entered. A panel of judges attended each production and developed the nominations.

Here is the rundown of the 36 nominations in McAllen ISD productions: Musicals – Rowe High “Thoroughly Modern Millie” received nine nominations; McAllen High “Camp Rock” received eight nominations; Non-Musicals – McAllen High “Bob: A Life in 5 Acts” received eight nominations; Rowe High “The Games Afoot” received eight nominations; Memorial High “Chemical Imbalance” received three nominations.

The Palms Ceremony will be at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 21, at the McAllen Performing Arts Center. Tickets can be purchased at the McAllen Convention Center Box Office or through Ticketmaster. Several of the nominees will perform at the ceremony.

Please note: McAllen ISD student, teacher, alumni and staff photos are on-going and will be updated at least twice a year to showcase multiple campuses and the McAllen community at large. The McAllen Independent School District is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age or disability.

McAllen ISD adopted a Maintenance and Operations tax rate that will raise more taxes for Maintenance and Operations than last year's tax rate. While raising the Maintenance and Operations tax rate, the Board of Trustees simultaneously lowered the District’s Debt Service tax rate in an amount equal to the increase on the Maintenance and Operations tax rate. As a result of the Board’s combined actions, there will be no increase in the District’s overall tax rate for the 2017-18 fiscal year.